Buttermilk dressing

The first time I ate pizza with my New York friends, I learned that Texans have a special relationship with buttermilk dressing. When the pizza arrived, I pulled a jar out of the refrigerator, grabbed a slice of pizza and drizzled some of the creamy, tangy dressing all over it.

“What are you doing?” said my friends.

“You don’t put buttermilk dressing on your pizza?” I said.

“No! That’s disgusting!” said my friends.

I shrugged and then continued to eat my buttermilk-dressing soaked pizza. And it was good.

When it comes to buttermilk dressing, Texans don’t just stop at pizza. We, of course, put it on our salads. But we also use it as a dip for our steak fingers, onion rings, fried okra, cheese fries and leftover fried chicken, among many other things.

Buttermilk dressing has long been a popular staple in a Texan’s larder. Its presence harks back to a time when dairy was ubiquitous and cheap, so it made sense to craft a dressing out of buttermilk and eggs rather than oil, which was scarce.

In the 1960’s, buttermilk dressing became branded as ranch dressing, but I prefer to call it by its proper name, especially as the stuff you buy in a bottle has almost no relationship to what you can make at home. And yes, buttermilk is indeed the star. I was reading recipes for buttermilk dressing from almost 100 years ago, and back then it was a boiled dressing made with eggs, vinegar, buttermilk, herbs and spices. In the late 1930’s, however, both vegetable oil and commercial mayonnaise became more available and so people started using those ingredients to make their buttermilk dressing instead.

I have to say that the latter method is how I’ve been making my buttermilk dressing for years as it takes minimal effort to achieve maximum flavor. But I was curious about the boiled method. My grandma has no fond memories of the boiled dressing my great-grandmother made and perhaps the use of mayonnaise indeed marks progress. That said, I decided to make a batch of buttermilk dressing the truly old-fashioned way.

In researching recipes, I discovered that Craig Claiborne (the longtime New York Times food editor and fellow Southerner) also found his mother’s boiled dressing distasteful. No matter, I decided to persevere in making a batch.

Well, after boiling together a concoction of eggs, apple-cider vinegar, mustard, cayenne, buttermilk and butter, I was left with a thick, acidic custard that smelled so bad I had to throw open the windows and leave my apartment for a spell. (Note to self: if both your grandma and Craig Claiborne hate something, you will probably hate it, too.)

So indeed, progress has been made by the advent of widely available commercial mayonnaise. And thankfully, making buttermilk dressing is a snap, which means that you can have it whenever the occasion arises. So go on, what are you waiting for? You just know that slice of cold pizza sitting in your fridge needs an embellishment, and nothing makes leftovers, fried foods or salads sing like a good dose of creamy, tangy, spicy buttermilk dressing.

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Buttermilk dressing

Servings6

AuthorLisa Fain

Ingredients

1/4cupmayonnaise

1/2cupsour cream

1/2cupbuttermilk

1tablespoonfreshly squeezed lime juice

1clovegarlic, minced

1Serrano chile, seeded and finely diced

1/4cupchopped cilantro

1teaspoonchopped fresh chives

1/8teaspooncayenne pepper

Salt

Black pepper

Instructions

Recipe Notes

I like my dressing on the thinner side, so if you prefer it thicker use 1/2 cup of mayonnaise. And if you don’t want it to be so spicy, feel free to omit the Serrano or substitute a jalapeno pepper instead. Also, you can use parsley instead of cilantro if you’re one of those “Cilantro tastes like soap people, I won’t be insulted.

Is the ranch-on-pizza (and everything else) habit confined to only parts of Texas? When I moved to Sherman (north TX), I was very surprised to find everyone dipping their pizza in the dressing. I've now been in Austin for 7 years and rarely see anyone doing that. And when they do, they usually have come here from Dallas.

I'm not a Texan (originally from VA now in FL), but I dip everything in 'ranch' dressing! YUM! I have to try this recipe. Wondering if you've ever made it with lowfat buttermilk, mayo, and sour cream? Or if the only way to go is the real full fat stuff??

Lisa, once again you have read my culinary mind. I was just about to start looking for a recipe for buttermilk dressing to go on fried green tomatoes out of my garden. Thanks for saving me the time and trouble. The bottled stuff leaves much to be desired.

I've bookmarked this recipe and will definitely try it – I love ranch dressing, but have been searching for something better than the bottle – looking forward to giving this a try. I just discovered your site and I think it's great!

Can't wait to make this dressing. I love the buttermilk/ranch dressing at some restaurants, but you're right that the stuff from the store tastes like a whole different (bad) breed! Gotta love pizza with dressing. 🙂

I'm absolutely dying for some type of ranch dressing. I am currently living in Argentina where neither sour cream nor your suggested substitute of Greek yogurt can be found. Is there anything else I could do to make up for the lack of sour cream? Please, this is a an emergency. lol 😉

I'm from South Texas (The Rio Grande Valley) and now live in San Antonio. The dipping of pizza (and many other foods) in ranch is prevalent in both! Thanks for sharing. My hubby LOVES ranch dressing, so I might give this a go.

Out in Western New York, pizza isn't pizza if it doesn't come with a side of Buffalo wings, and Buffalo wings aren't Buffalo wings unless they come with blue cheese dressing, so, I think you can see where this is going… Once the blue cheese dressing is all nice and tangy from the Buffalo wing sauce, the only way to complete the meal is by dipping the pizza in the blue cheese dressing.

Friggin' deeeeelicous! I still do it to this day when I'm alone or with other upstate peeps.

i'm one of the cilantro LOVERS…where would we be without cilantro? what would ceviche or banh mi taste like without it?! i've never tried buttermilk dressing on pizza, but that doesn't mean i won't be giving it a go in the near future. how boring would life be if we never switched things up a bit?

I was rasied as a child in Western NY with wings weekly, but could never handle blue cheese, so I went with the side of ranch to dip the wings in….Our family moved to Austin, TX in middle school and Ranch is my Ketchup I dip everything in it! I think people do it all over! There is nothing like the freshly made non-preservative Ranch! PS the only reason I get Mr Gatti's pizza is for their homemade Ranch 🙂

Yup, people look at me like i'm crazy when i ask for ranch dressing at pizza places. And when people ask me for it at work I'm always tempted to ask where they're from in hopes of meeting another texan.

Dipping pizza into ranch dressing is not confined to Texas. Here is California (San Francisco), we love to dip the crust and sometimes the whole pizza into ranch dressing. The local pizza joints give you little containers of ranch upon request. And yes, it's yummy. Sometimes, it's the only reason I order pizza.

So, I grew up in Illinois where we did not put dressing on pizza. Then, I moved to Texas and while I've been living here, my family in IL has started putting dressing on pizza. I don't how it started, but I visited, we went out for pizza, and they did it. I tried it. Not bad!

when i read "buttermilk dressing" i thought "ranch". when i read this recipe i thought "heaven". i love mayo and will find any excuse to eat it. this looks divine and bonus…i just picked a serrano from the garden!

OH, Buttermilk Dressing! My favorite and I hate salads! But I don't think there is anything that can't be dipped in buttermilk dressing, from fried squash, zucchini, green tomatoes, and even the latest thing-fried pickles, that buttermilk dressing doesn't make extra delicious. Can't wait to mix up a batch of your version for the squash and zucchini I have sitting in my fridge just begging to be cornmeal battered, deep fried, and dunked in that dressing!

OMG. Ranch dressing is one of the four food groups around here. Now you've kicked it up a notch with spicy ranch dressing with cilantro. This would be very similar to what's called Cafe Rio salad dressing in Utah, one of my favorite things on earth. Bookmarked!

We've made a buttermilk and Hellman's (must be full-fat Hellman's) dressing in my family for eons. We refer to it simply as "dip" because we dip just about everything from veggies and pizza to turkey sandwiches and chips in it. Our shortcut is to Good Seasoning's Italian Dressing packets. That said, I'll definitely have to try your recipe very soon!

I lived in Weatherford (TX) for a while before moving to Florida and back up to CT. The Pizza Place in Weatherford always included a side of creamy Italian dressing with every pizza order. Having lived in NYC and California, it was the first and only time I'd ever seen that. I thought they were nuts…until I tried it! Now when we have pizza and salad at home I always end up putting the leftover dribs and drabs of the salad and dressing on the remains of the pizza and crust…so good! (Yikes-this is like True Confessions) I am thrilled to have a really good buttermilk dressing recipe. I love your site and writing – everything I prepare from your recipes is great!

The funny thing is that I grew up in Texas and have lived here for most of my life and never until I got married to a Yankee did I ever discover dipping pizza in ranch/buttermilk dressing. So THAT's what those big bottles of ranch dressing were for in our highschool lunchrooms!

Hello again ~ I forgot that donairs and donair sauce are mostly a local phenomenon. Donair meat is ground beef with lots of spices that is cooked on a spit, then shaved off and loaded into a warmed pita with lots of chopped onions, tomatoes and donair sauce. We make our own sauce at home – it's just sweetened condensed milk, white vinegar and garlic, but I haven't yet made a version of the meat that I am happy with. Fortunately the local pizza place makes a fantastic donair. The sauce and pizza are incredible together, and most local pizza places also serve a donair pizza. Now I'm hungry!

Oh man. I love Buttermilk Dressing. There is a restaurant in El Paso that serves up the BEST Boneless Buffalo Wings with Ranch Dressing, similar to your recipe. Anytime I go home, I order that and just melt into a wonderful utopia of food. Here in Middle Georgia they serve Fried Green Tomatoes with Honey Mustard. It's ok, just not as great as with a good Buttermilk Dressing.

Here in Toronto, pretty much all the pizza places and chains serve sides of various dipping sauces with their pizza. Caesar, ranch, blue cheese .You name it. Your friends, who admonished you for doing the "buttermilk dunk" need to get out more.

Thank you so much for the recipe! Here in the Philippines, it's hard to find any kind of "ranch" dressing. I've been dying to make pizza bread (think giant bundt pan-sized fluffy DD's pep'roni roll), but kept putting it off until I could find something suitable to dip it in. My wait is over! You've made this expat Texan happy.

Haha, I live in Houston and was too embarrassed to eat pizza around my friends the way I preferred – with ranch dressing (preferably homemade). One day a friend's boyfriend went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of ranch and proceeded to pour it on his slice of pizza. Two other people followed suit and I sat there with my mouth hanging open – stunned but happy my secret was out! Now I wonder why I bothered being shy about it.

P.S. The best pizza and ranch combo is fresh mushroom, sausage and black olive. Ohhh delicious!

The first time I heard of dipping pizza was when I was working in Fort Worth, there was a little pizza delivery place across the way who would deliver pizza and/or garlic bread with cheese with at least 2 sides of ranch to dip in….mmmm I was converted! Never heard of it in Corpus Christi though.

I happen to have a gaggle of teens at my house and was just on my way to get Little Caesar's for them. I'll run in and get buttermilk, believe it or not I have the other stuff in the fridge! We are definitely dippers here in Longview, Texas!!!

Hi! I recently found your blog and as a "homesick texan" myself it has been such a treat to read your posts. 22 of my 26 years were spent in Texas and my husband is from Michigan, we now reside in KY.

Anyways, I use buttermilk dressing for everything and my husband has always thought it was strange. I remember the first time we ate out somewhere and I got chicken strips and asked for ranch he responded "eww what….you don't use barbeque". I have never made my own dressing, I think I'll have to try this.

Clueless is my new middle name. I lived in Texas for 49 years, my dad was even in the Sons of the Republic, and I never dipped my pizza in dressing. This proves that sometimes I just don't see things that I can't comprehend. 🙂

Pizza without Ranch? Unheard of. My favorite pizza joint back in Texas had the best house dressing. Their secret ingredient was black olive brine. Sounds odd, but it adds just the right amount of tang.

What timing! Clare and I have been recreating the JLOB bibb lettuce salad (with buttermilk dressing, fried shitake mushrooms, oranges and shropshire blue) a couple of times a week. For a lighter, simpler dressing it's just buttermilk, champagne vinegar and a little bit of olive oil (we asked the chef.) It probably wouldn't stand up to pizza or chicken fingers but is perfect on farm fresh lettuce.

I. Love. Ranch. I dip way more things than I need to in it, including pizza! In fact, I was just in Chicago at a pizza place and got the craziest look from the waiter when I requested ranch be brought out with the pizza. I think he thought I was crazy! 🙂

I eat ranch on everything except ice cream. Ok, well not quite. But close. I always thought my daughter invented the whole ranch on pizza thing, then she got me hooked on it. I'm surprised she didn't ask for ranch at Giordano's in Chicago, but it must have slipped her mind.

Wonderful! Thanks! I've been looking for a good buttermilk dressing recipe ever since my favorite "close to work for a quick & somewhat healthy lunch" restaurant stopped their lunchtime hours. Can't wait to make this one!

My first inclination was a slight shudder, but then, I had the same first reaction when I moved to Argentina a few years back and discovered pizzas that people slathered "Salsa Golf" over – which is basicall half mayo and half ketchup (or cocktail sauce). After eventually getting around to trying a slice that way, I discovered it's actually pretty darned good! Now, where to find buttermilk dressing here?

Lisa, I made this dressing tonight, and it turned out really tasty! I had commented on this recipe a while back (I live in Argentina and don't have access to sour cream). Although I had to get pretty creative with some of the ingredients, the end result was creamy, tangy and spicy, just as you described. A big thank you from Argentina!

oh yes we luv our buttermilk so much! Though since we were moved to Germany we got the strangest looks from ppl when we ask for ranch or buttermilk dressing which in Germany they don't carry so we always take a lil bottle with us when we go out, LOL

bhdancegirl you've really hit home. I grew up in Weatherford TX and we ate at Roger's Place aka Pizza place sometimes 5 days a week for lunch in high school. We could get a small cheese pizza, drink, salad and that famous creamy italian dressing for $3.27. The only thing better was is when I went off to college at Tarleton State University and Roger's second Pizza Place was just down the street there in Stephenville but there he served Dublin Dr Pepper on tap.

I've always said, "You can spot a Southerner by the Ranch dressing". I put Ranch (i.e. Buttermilk dressing) on everything from sandwich's to pizza to chicken to fries. Everything tastes a little better with a little Buttermilk! My family are all Northeasterners and they look disgustingly at me whenever I pull the Ranch out- they don't get it!PS- I say the same thing more specifically about Texans and BBQ sauce.

Ok, I did a quick Google search for a buttermilk dressing & came across your site. The dressing is delicious! I can't wait to peruse the remainder of your blog. Thanks for a simple, tasty recipe that took me all of 6 minutes to put together!

I've made a buttermilk dressing using cream cheese instead of mayonnaise. (If you're wondering why, I don't like mayonnaise.) It turned out on the thick side at first, so I had to add more buttermilk, which is really not a bad thing.

Forgo the peppers listed and add a couple of Chipolata peppers in adobe sauce. Blend in.

The stars at night, are big and bright,deep in the heart of Texas,The prairie sky is wide and high,deep in the heart of Texas.The sage in bloom is like perfume,deep in the heart of Texas,Reminds me of, the one I love,deep in the heart of Texas.

The coyotes wail, along the trail,deep in the heart of Texas,The rabbits rush, around the brush,deep in the heart of Texas.The cowboys cry, "Ki-yip-pee-yi,"deep in the heart of Texas,The dogies bawl, and bawl and bawl,deep in the heart of Texas.

I'm from Iceland but lived in Texas when I was a child, while my parents went to university at UT. They learned to dip their pizza in Ranch dressing and we still get ranch dressing mix sent to us in Iceland as they don't have ranch dressing here, so we can cover our pizza's in dressing! If there are people over we get the usual 'You're putting salad dressing on a pizza??!! Gross!!' But we've converted a few people who now love it! 😛

This sounds wonderful. One question though, I live in a country that does not have buttermilk. Do you think you can get the same results with the milk/lemon juice buttermilk? I am anxious to try this but will have to use parsley as cilantro isn't readily available here either.Thanks for posting. I really enjoy your blog!

I just made this with a few changes and I love it! Thank you for the recipe. I am originally from San Antonio but have lived in Virginia, Florida and now Massachusetts. Now I am just a home sick southerner lol. I also put ranch dressing on my pizza at times 🙂

Here in Sweden we have pizzas with kabab (giros from greece/Turkey) and they always put a white sauce like buttermilk dressing on after it comes out of the oven. I ca't wait to try this recipe with fish tacos. For the critical white sauce on fish tacos I use a version of the jalapeno ranch dressing they served at Chuy's in Houston. It is ranch with the addition of green chillis, cilantro and jalapenos – fantastic! I am also originally from Texas and reading your blog brings reminds me of how much I miss it…Dan

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